The key to long term success if you own a business is good customer service. Your business may sell top line products or offer a vital service, but if you don’t provide good customer service then you will find it difficult to survive in a competitive market.
To find out the secrets behind providing exceptional customer service it is necessary to learn from experience and other peoples examples of good customer service. To achieve this goal it can be confusing and time consuming reading and sifting through the many examples of good customer service and poor customer service that you are able to access in book stores or on-line. Further, what you are reading may in many instances, have little relevance in how you or your staff deal with customers in the working environment you belong to.
Many worthwhile lessons can be learned by looking back on your own experiences as a customer with businesses or companies you have worked with or come into contact with over the years. It is also highly likely you can provide many examples of good customer service yourself as well as unsatisfactory customer service.
To help you and your business acquire a reputation for providing good customer service and reap the rewards that come from that there are some basic rules you and your employees need to follow. Read on -
Some advice for the Employer
A very good strategy some businesses use is to structure staff meetings or employee training sessions to include time discussing the sort of service (or lack of it) that you and your employees get from other companies. By talking about examples of good customer service and experiences of bad customer service openly it helps to identify risks along with strengths and weaknesses in your own organizations delivery of customer service. Also, recognize and reward staff members who generate positive customer feedback. It is also a powerful tool to keep training sessions fresh and interesting to use recent examples of good customer service as discussion points.
Before any business can provide good quality customer service, employees need to be suitably equipped and trained. So what are some examples of good customer service and how can you or your business provide it? Have a look at the following questions then decide whether you or your staff are delivering average, good or exceptional service.
Attending to the customer’s requirements
Does the employee have good back ground knowledge of the business and can efficiently and professionally provide the customer with the required information?
Helpful attitude
Does the employee project a pleasant, friendly and polite image and attitude to the customer?
Dealing with conflict
Is the employee competent in handling difficult issues and problem customers with courtesy and respect?
Meeting the customer’s needs
Is the employee accommodating and makes time to ensure the customer’s particular requirements are met?
Exceeding requirements
Does the employee regularly exceed standards by going the extra mile to provide outstanding customer service?
So what is the golden rule of Good Customer Service?
You will have noticed from reading the above points that the key messages outlined in the examples of good customer service are “effective customer communication”. It is therefore important that this key message should be a priority and focus for staff at all times.
The eight principle Examples of Good Customer Service
1. Choosing the right staff
Ensure employees who are chosen to deal with customers have a bright, pleasant and positive personality. New staff should be made aware of your expectations and where necessary put through a well structured customer services training programme. Employing staff with customer service qualifications would be advantage as it indicates a commitment to the customer service area.
2. Valuing staff
By providing a happy team culture staff will feel valued and they will provide customers with top class service. Pay staff a competitive salary and offer benefits such as staff discounts and other incentives. Train staff to a high standard so that they are better than your competitors.
3. Using modern technology
Customers can feel as if they are just another number when an automated voice on the other end of the phone is telling them what to do. Where possible keep the automated responses to a minimum. Customers like to deal with someone who is sensitive to their needs rather than an automated computer response or hostile salesperson.
4. Resolving complaints
Ensure complaints are resolved quickly and appropriately. By not taking the time to listen and resolve a simple problem can cost your business a valued customer. Emphasize the solutions you have to offer as solutions often open the door to sales.
5. Considering the customer
Never regard a potential customer as an annoyance. Although you may know everything there is about your business don’t assume your customers do. When handling customers concerns use the opportunity to find out as much as you can about the problem so that you can improve existing services and systems if necessary.
6. Appreciating the customers business
Customers like to feel appreciated and will remember the good service your business provides. For example a simple follow up note to thank customer’s for there service may very well help remind them to again use your business.
7. Building a reputation
Attention to service can be the difference between success and failure for a business. Customers like to be dealt with promptly so a prompt response for example may make the difference between a profit or loss. Customers look for businesses that go the extra mile and keep promises so by providing examples of good customer service you will be helping to give your business a reputation which will in turn help your bottom line.
8. Reviewing performance
Learn from trends. The simplest most cost effective method to get customer feedback is through online customer satisfaction surveys. Such surveys help businesses to determine whether there are examples of good customer service that can be utilized and put into practice. Asking customers questions like whether they would buy products from your company in the future is an excellent method to help your business to build customer satisfaction and to find out what customers really think.
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